Chevy Volt: Watt's the price?

BY HOWARD WALKERSpecial Sections correspondent

Published: June 22, 2013

If you've been dilly-dallying over whether or not to buy that Chevy Volt gas-electric hybrid, dilly-dally no more: It's blue-light special time at Chevrolet.
Right now, they're slicing up to $5,000 off the sticker which, when you take into consideration the $39,995 MSRP and the $7,500 Uncle Sam tax credit, plummets the price to a feel-good $27,495.
For the price chop you have to thank good ol' competition in the marketplace - and those nice folks at Nissan who have just slashed $6,000 off the electric-only Leaf.
So, truth is, there really never has been a better time to buy a new Volt.

I have to say I've never quite understood why this eco-Chevy hasn't been a soaring success. Since it debuted back in 2011 I've driven it on numerous occasions and never failed to be totally impressed.
That said, I'm sure it's that $40,000 price tag that has put people off. At full price the Volt is too expensive.
Or maybe it's the confusion or uncertainty over the $7,500 tax credit. Or the fact that these days there are plenty of terrific compact sedans out there that can average 40 mpg yet cost half the full price of a Volt.
Yet the pure beauty of the Volt is that if your daily driving is less than 40 miles, chances are that you'll never need to put gas in the tank.
When I recently spent a week with a 2013 Volt, I'd charge it up overnight and then zip all over Tampa the next day - always less than 35 miles - with still lots of watts to spare.
Yet if I needed to zip down to St. Pete - or one day, all the way to Miami - there was that gas-sipping Ecotec four-cylinder to take over and extend the range by 345 miles.
Maybe it's time for you to get plugged-in, charged-up and Volted.

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